Quotes: Ravitch "Goes Too Far" (Again?)

While it is fine for the adults to disagree on such issues, we should leave our families, especially our kids, out of it. - Former StudentsFirst communications chief Hari Sevugan, via email, in response to a recent Diane Ravitch blog post in which she named the private school Rhee sent one of her children to in Nashville. Full quote is below.

FULL QUOTE

Naming the school Michelle's daughter attends goes too far. It was unnecessary. We, as the adults helping shape our schools, can and should have a healthy discussion about issues like parental choice, class size, and other things. And while it is fine for the adults to disagree on such issues, we should leave our families, especially our kids, out of it

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

This is nonsense, but expected. It is vitally important to point out the class/race differences between the "reformers" calling for massive disruption in low-income communities and bad accountability-based practices in low-income schools and the types of schools (upper-income) reformers demand for their own children. This disparity is stark and it should be called out. Why do "reformers" think it is OK to give low-income kids test-prep curricula, zero tolerance discipline, under/un-certified teachers, larger classes, technology in lieu of school personelle, and less recess, art, and music when they woudl never allow such practices done on their own children?

This difference in types of school experiences being offered to low-income children compared to what the policy-makers choose for their own kids is a glaring racist and classist deficiency in corporate ed reform policy and the only defense they seem to be able to come up with is to personally attack the people pointing out the obvious.

The NRA exists to espouse weapons whose purpose is to kill. It's inherently threatening when they do something like that. It's completely relevant what schools the most prominent reformers send their kids to. 100% relevant.